Chapter 596
Chu Li saw everything and heard Xia Wei's words clearly in his mind . He merely smiled while shaking his head .
Elder Xia was so satisfied with Chu Li that he was now trying to set up his daughter with him . Unfortunately, Xia Wei absolutely hated him, which saved them both a lot of trouble .
Although Xia Wei was beautiful, she was not at the level of Xiao Shi or Xiao Qi . Looks were not the main factor though . He just did not want to complicate things, because if a relationship actually came into play, then Chu Li would have a hard time strategizing his moves .
After all, his plan was to become the leader of the Crouching Bull Mountain .
Zhuge Feng would prove to be a tricky obstacle, and Chu Li might even end up getting exposed soon enough if he did not wrap things up quickly . Time was of the essence in this situation . Not to mention, him going back and forth between the An Imperial Residence and the mountain was already stretching his limits .
Any woman staying with him would surely sense something off . In fact, the main reason Chu Li sent Qiao San away from the mountain was to avoid him accidentally exposing his identity .
To avoid trouble, it was best to stay completely away from an intimate relationship – which meant avoiding getting too close with Xia Wei .
Chu Li saw Xia Wei send both Zhou Hange and Chu Dazhi away before returning to her spot in the forest to continue her training . He breathed out a sigh of relief .
Xia Wei's control of her abilities was much better than Zhou Hange and Chu Dazhi, possibly even better than Murong Liang . Unfortunately, her inert talent was not up to scratch, and she could not advance her martial arts in a timely manner . It would be difficult for her to even become a Grandmaster .
The world was never fair . Even though Xia Wei worked hard and spent more time training than anyone else, she would never reach their level .
Xia Wei had somehow managed to suppress her disappointment while continuing to work hard . This mental fortitude was not something commonly found, especially in a woman . Chu Li was very impressed with her work rate .
He slowly sheathed his sword and a servant quickly brought over a pale of water . Chu Li washed his face before trekking towards the top of the mountain .
Chu Li met with Zhou Hange and Chu Dazhi as soon as he exited the courtyard .
The two gave him a closed fist salute .
Chu Li looked at them and gestured . "If you guys have nothing to do now then follow me up to the mountaintop . "
"Does the Young Master wish to train there?" Chu Dazhi was curious .
"I am going to read at the Martial Arts Library," replied Chu Li .
"Young Master still needs to go to that library? There are only low-level scriptures inside there . Young Master, you are already a Grandmaster, what's the point in reading those scriptures!" Chu Dazhi was surprised .
Chu Li grinned . "My foundation isn't that strong, so I am planning on reading to build it up . "
"Young Master really is hard working!" Chu Dazhi was impressed and whistled at his response .
Chu Li laughed . "You, on the other hand, need to improve your bootlicking skills!"
Chu Dazhi looked away embarrassingly while Zhou Hange burst out laughing .
Chu Dazhi and Zhou Hange followed by Chu Li's side as they ascended the mountain .
A small road led them toward the top of the mountain . After about 200 meters, the road became wider and everything cleared up . The mountain valley came into view .
In the mountain valley, there were even more houses and buildings . The atmosphere was lively and bustling . The buildings here had a different structure compared to those located in the lower levels of the mountain .
The buildings in the lower levels of the mountain were slightly old and broken, but those in the valley were modern and looked appealing . The entire ambiance of the place was different, it seemed to make everyone more energetic .
Chu Li grinned . "This place sure is lively . "
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Chu Dazhi nodded . "Since people here couldn't always head down the mountain, they tried their best to make this place more liveable and enjoyable . Besides, staying in the valley to train without any entertainment is bad for one's mentality, and not at all suitable for cultivation . "
Chu Li sighed . "That's true . "
Chu Dazhi chuckled . "This was Elder Murong's idea . He supported the addition of shops like the grocer, accessories shop, snack stall, restaurants, wine houses, tea houses, basically everything else found here in the mountain valley . "
Chu Li smiled . "This place really is quite impressive . "
"Those shops are all located on the same street . Normally, everyone will come to this street and enjoy themselves once they finish with their training," Chu Dazhi continued .
"Come, let's go and look around . " Chu Li nodded
Chu Dazhi was delighted . "Young Master will surely enjoy it . "
There were four protectors guarding the entrance to the valley . They saw the three of them approach and gave them a fist salute without stopping them .
As the three men entered the valley, they felt the air immediately become warm .
The area was humid, flowers and vines grew on all the walls .
The valley was akin to a small town . Houses were arranged in neat lines and formed six streets in total . The six streets were parallel to a large main road in the middle connecting all of them together .
Shops with colorful banners and flags lined the sides of the main road . There were restaurants and tea houses, and even a board games house and a shooting gallery . There were all kinds of shops, fulfilling almost every need and hobby you could think of .
As the three of them walked along the main street, Chu Li found himself bedazzled by the scenery before him - it took a lot of effort to turn this place into what it was .
At the end of the main street was a building made out of rocks .
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The rock building had three levels and was built next to the river . The river originated from a large pool by the mountainside and flowed past the valley all the way down to the base of the mountain . The water was so clear and clean that is was actually safe to drink .
This rock building was the library .
Chu Li entered the library with the other two . The inside of the library was lively as there were many people reading books while standing or squatting .
Chu Li showed the guards his waist tag and headed straight for the third floor .
There were not many scriptures on the third floor, only one shelf to be exact . The other shelves were filled with cultivating reviews .
All the reviews were written by famous past students of the Couching Bull Mountain . They might have been useless to others, but they were very important for the understanding of the other students training here .
Chu Li stopped by the shelf with scriptures and flipped through each of them one by one .
The Crouching Bull Mountain had two types of scriptures; ones that originated directly from the Crouching Bull Mountain and others which had been obtained from somewhere else, mostly from clans that have been eliminated .
Chu Li had a hunch that a lot of blood had to be shed in order to obtain these scriptures .
The first three levels of the shelf were filled with the scriptures originating from the Crouching Bull Mountain, while the rest were filled with the other scriptures . The scriptures were usually compiled together so that they could be read in one go . However, most of the time they were only used for reference, and very rarely actually practiced .
This was because it was pointless to have mastered the power but not completely mastered the technique - even the strongest technique was useless if not mastered completely .
This was why most of the students only focused on training via the Couching Bull Mountain scriptures . The reviews left by the previous students allowed them to focus and train efficiently .
Not to mention, the scriptures from other sects were also weaker compared to those from the Crouching Bull Mountain .
Even if it was as powerful as the technique from the Crouching Bull Mountain, it would take much longer to master . It normally takes an average person one year to completely master the Crouching Bull Mountain technique, but it would take at least ten years to master those from other sects .
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Besides, these scriptures obtained were from sects that have been destroyed by the Crouching Bull Mountain . Because of this, they were naturally regarded as weaker techniques .
However, Chu Li did not care about opinions . He read and memorized everything so that he could slowly digest it when he had the time .
What Chu Li needed to do now was to embed the Cloud Slashing Sword Technique into his Seven Forms of Godly Sword . However, he would need an even stronger discipline and training to do this . This was where the library came in .
Zhou Hange and Chu Dazhi each found a review and started reading too . They saw Chu Li reading quickly, but ignored him and tried their best not to disturb him . They focused on their own matters .
Just as they were getting hungry and thinking of lunch, they turned to see Chu Li returning the last book back to its shelf .
"Young Master, let us find a restaurant and have our lunch . " Chu Dazhi walked toward him .
Chu Li nodded .
Zhou Hange suddenly piped up, "Are you really that quick of a reader?"
"I am just looking for something I need, most of these are useless to me," Chu Li replied .
Chu Dazhi was curious and pressed him further, "What does Young Master want to read?"
"I'm looking for something about a sword technique, but, there's not much of that here," Chu Li answered .
"Yes, the library doesn't keep that many sword manuals, but those that are here are very powerful . " Zhou Hange sighed .
Chu Li smiled and remained silent .
Instantly, the two youths realized that what was powerful to them, was useless to Chu Li .